It is a rather pleasant morning in Mid Suffolk, but I find myself with weightier matters to consider. Do I, or do I not, move Russian forces into the Ukraine?
Before anyone gets too excited, or thinks that I have developed illusions of grandeur, relax - I'm playing an online game of Diplomacy with a group of former Young Liberals of my acquaintance. And yes, it is hard to contemplate a time when I was young, and knowing my politics, even less likely that I might have been a Young Liberal (bloody radicals!), but it is true.
Indeed, I was the last Secretary General of the Young Liberals (England and Wales) prior to merger of the Liberals and Social Democrats in 1988, something that happened under typically bizarre circumstances (you know how it is, there's nobody left in the room when a job comes up...). And, indeed, my brief but life-changing first spell in international politics came about through equally unlikely circumstances, but those are stories for another day.
I am not, it must be said, the world's greatest Diplomacy player. I have a tendency to swing from passive to aggressive erratically, to leave diplomacy and even moves until late in the day, and to occasionally lose interest, especially when faced with resistance. It is nice though to renew old friendships and catch up on the lives of old friends.
I drew the Russians out of the hat which, for those of you who know the game, means that I have vast amounts of space, and a whole slew of options - attack the Austrians, Germans or Turks, contest Scandinavia with the English, compete in the Balkans with the Austrians and the Turks. It is a little perplexing, as I don't necessarily handle choice well. However, it seems to be going alright so far, and I've lodged my moves with our gamemaster, so we'll see how we go.
And, apparently, there's an election campaign going on somewhere...
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